Proj 6008 Leadership For The Assessment Answers

Introduction

The report is based on the analysis of the case study of J & J Furnishings Ltd. who started their operations in the field of furniture building in the year 1965 in Sydney. They added furniture required for office purposes in their production line in the year 1980. The company expanded their operations in other countries like Tokyo, New York and London. The organization increased its sales in the 1990s with the help of revenues generated from furniture shipping and distribution of products related to home decorations in United States and Europe as well. The current sales of J & J Furnishings are around 130,000 units in one year (Hbr.org 2017). The company is planning to add pool-side furniture and patio to further increase its profitability. The number of employees who are currently working in J & J Furnishings are around 200. The team of leaders comprises of the founders of the company Jessica and Jack and the directors. The goals of the company include the concern of the company regarding the environmental impact of their manufacturing operations and thereby build strategy to sustain in the environment. The second goal of the company is to upgrade their shipping, ordering and billing related software. The third goal of the company is to improve the strategic plans so that they can keep pace with the needs of the customers (Hbr.org 2017).

Explanation of the choice of leadership style 

The leadership style that can be chosen as a project manager is the democratic style of leadership. This leadership is chosen by project managers instead of the authoritative style. The authoritative style of leadership is mainly focussed on the goals of the organization. The leaders mainly decide the goals that are supposed to be achieved by the employees and the means by which they can achieve these goals and for the employees to decide. On the other hand, the democratic style of leadership is applied when the leaders try to involve the employees in the processes of the organization. The thoughts and the opinions of the employees are given priority and they are involved in the decision making process of the organization (Hbr.org 2017). This type of leadership will be helpful for the management or the team of leaders as it will involve the employees who are different backgrounds and a new goal is being set by the company. The project team has been employed by the company to manage the new expansion plan to start the process expansion and IT software related wing of the company. The team includes 40 employees from quite different backgrounds and different countries as well. It is therefore important for the Project Manager to involve them in the decisions of the company and so that they can feel connected to the company and become a successful team. The collaborative team is important in this case to achieve the goals of the company (Hbr.org 2017).

Tools and techniques to be used

The project managers can use many techniques to influence their project team, these ways are as discussed further.

• The first way by which the project manager can influence the team is by authority. The managers can employ their authority on the team of members as they gain this authority from their position in the organization. This will help the project to direct the members in the team to achieve their goals. The roles and responsibility of the team members are given by the project managers and they can work towards the goals accordingly (Ssir.org 2017).
• The manager can also influence the project management team by the knowledge and expertise he has in the subject related to the project. The knowledge possessed by the manager acts as a resource for the members of the team and encourages team work.
• The professional advancements provided by the managers to the members of the team is another technique that is used to influence the members. The incentives and rewards provided to the members and the promotions are some ways by which the managers can influence the team (Ssir.org 2017).
• The coercive behaviour of the project managers is one of the techniques they use to manage the members. This type of behaviour involves the blocking the promotions of the employees or penalising them in some other way to get the jobs done by them.
• The other technique used by the managers is the way by which they can produce a challenge towards the members of the team regarding the goals that need to be achieved. The manager challenges them in a constructive manner so that they are motivated to achieve the goals related to the team (Ssir.org 2017).
• The project manager can also try to build a bond with the employees so that he can motivate them to work collaboratively as a team and thereby try to achieve the goals. This type of collaborative work results in successful completion of the projects as well.

Power type employed for the following activities

The legitimate power, reciprocity, responsibility, position, equity power which influences the project team to comply with the orders given by the manager. This power relates to the legitimate position of a person which refers to the situation where the employee or the member of the team has to follow the instructions that are given by his superior. This power requires the employees to follow the orders of his manager which is set to achieve the targets. The norm of reciprocity related to this power mainly states that the managers can make the employees feel obligated towards following his orders (AlKilani 2017). The legitimate norm of this power states that the managers can make the employees feel that he is dependent on them regarding the completion of the given job.

Motivating the team members

The “power that results in socially dependent change with surveillance necessary” is the type of power that the manager can use to motivate the employees. The managers can use this power to provide incentives or promotion to the employees to motivate them to achieve their targets. The manager can also penalise the members of the team if they are unable to achieve the targets that are set by him. The effectiveness of this power base is required to tracked by the manager (AlKilani 2017).

Impacting the success of the project

The power of the manager that he can use to impact the success of the project is the “power that leads to socially independent change”. This power is related to the way by which the manager can use his knowledge and information related to the processes of the project and impact the project completion. The manager can educate the members of the team regarding the different ways of completing the project. The members of the team accept the reason related to the change and the change itself. This change is socially independent and impacts the success of the project as the knowledge level of the manager and his information affects the members of the team. This will help the team to achieve the goals and thereby the targets of the teams are also achieved (AlKilani 2017).

Explanation of the reasons behind the selection

The reason behind selecting the legitimate power to influence the team is that the members of the team are expected to follow the instructions of the manager due to the position that they hold in the organization. The managers can influence the employees based on their hierarchical level. The employees are made to feel a sense of responsibility by the manager and they also feel that the manager is dependent on them for the task to be completed. The next power that has been selected to motivate the employees is the power by which the manager provides incentives or rewards to the employees if they can achieve their targets and in the same way the employees are penalised if they fail to do so. The third power that has been selected to impact the work process is the power related to knowledge and information level of the manager. The manager can then influence the employees to work in a different manner if required to achieve the targets. The employees agree with the views of the manager due to the level of knowledge he possesses.

Steps to be taken as the project manager

The success of any particular project depends not only on the employees of the project management team, however it also depends on the ways by which the manager leads the team. The managers need to gain knowledge, tool, skills and experience so that they can use this to maintain the teams (Td.org 2017). The project manager follow certain steps as discussed below to maintain their teams and achieve the goals.

• The managers need to understand the “soft side” of the project to make it successful. The soft side of the project affects its success much more as compared to technical side. Maintaining the soft side of the project is difficult and the managers need to make detailed documentations and planning regarding this.
• The teams in an organization are the main vehicle which helps the organizations to achieve their targets. The role of the manager is mainly to understand the needs of the team and then try to work effectively with the team members to achieve their goals. The team should not only work together, they also need to work effectively so that they reach their goals (Td.org 2017).
• The manager should take initiatives and try to understand the strengths and abilities of the members of the team. The manager makes the members feel happy and valued as well. This will encourage the employees to work together towards their goals. Building interpersonal relationships with the employees helps the managers to motivate them to achieve their goals (Td.org 2017).
• The other step that the manager can take to ease the challenges is the points that can be scored by the members of the team based on their performance. This can improve the performance of the members and thereby the manager’s ability to increase the performance of the team will also increase (Td.org 2017).

The above discussed steps can be taken by the manager to ease the challenges that the project management team can face and the challenges cannot damage the work process of the organization.

Conclusion

The analysis in the report is based on the leadership styles that can be used by the project managers so that they can manage the members of the project management team. The techniques and the tools that can be used by the managers to maintain the work process of the employees are also discussed in the report. The different types of power that that can be used by the manager to influence the members of the team, the ways by which the manager can motivate the employees to achieve their targets and the ways by which the managers can impact the success of the project is also discussed in the report. The report is concluded by analysing the steps that the project manager can take to ease the challenges of the members of the team.

References

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Hbr.org (2017). Crucibles of Leadership. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2002/09/crucibles-of-leadership [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].

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Hbr.org (2017). In Praise of the Incomplete Leader. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2007/02/in-praise-of-the-incomplete-leader [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].

Hbr.org (2017). Make Your Values Mean Something. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2002/07/make-your-values-mean-something [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].

Ssir.org (2017). Turning Values into Action (SSIR). [online] Ssir.org. Available at: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/turning_values_into_action [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].

Td.org (2017). Project Leadership and the Art of Managing Relationships. [online] Td.org. Available at: https://www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2010/03/Project-Leadership-and-the-Art-of-Managing-Relationships [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].